Plant milks are the non-frightening, yummy alternative to dairy milk. They’re often fortified with calcium and B12 among other things and have none of the horrid qualities of dairy, such as pus, growth hormones, antibiotics, cancer promoting animal protein and cholesterol. Also, milk from cows is supposed to feed their calves, not us. The same goes for goat’s milk, which is just as cruel an industry. The separating of mothers from their newborns just so humans can steal their sustenance is an inhumane and totally unnecessary practice. For health, the environment and of course animal welfare, it’s best to go with plant milks.

I used to drink quite a lot of milk in my pre-vegan days and, even though I’m not much of a tea or coffee drinker, I couldn’t imagine doing without cereal in the morning. I use almond milk for that these days and also for making porridge. My other half prefers coconut milk in his muesli and if you’ve got a sweet tooth, that could be the one for you. Soya milk is great for baking, and my cousin swears by oat milk as her daughter has an intolerance for both dairy and soya. My advice is to try each one that’s available to you easily till you find a taste you enjoy. Some people are really fancy and make their own milks using fantastic machines, but I’m a bit lazy for that.

Now I know what you’re thinking, what about cheese. Well that is a subject best covered in a whole separate post, but let’s just say for now that there are many superb cheese alternatives. One of the main reasons many people feel they can’t go fully vegan is because of cheese, so I’m glad the dairy free times are a’changing.

There’s a huge variety of plant milk out there -try them all!

The fabulous charity Viva! is a great resource and they have a whole booklet dedicated to the dairy free switch. You can download it or order a paper copy and it’s a great place to start. Giving up dairy milk is one of the best things you can do when it comes to altering your diet. If you’ve already given it up, well done! Do let me know if you spot any new vegan milk products, as I say, they’re springing up all the time!

When there’s a special occasion, the centrepiece of many parties is the cake. Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary or just having friends round for some cupcakes, everyone loves a sweet treat. When you’re vegan though, cakes can often be off the menu, which is disappointing to put it mildly.

Oreo cupcake

However, help is at hand. The great news is that vegan bakeries are springing up all over the country, so if there’s not one near you, I’m sure there will be soon. See, it turns out that vegan bakeries are dedicated to making the most scrumptious, beautiful cakes so that non-vegans won’t ever notice the difference. There are so many people who are lactose intolerant (you know, those troublesome people who don’t think they’re baby cows) that it’s not just the vegans celebrating the arrival of this new wave of baking delights.

Double chocolate-yum!

I discovered Pitxu’s Cakes and Bakes at the Scottish Vegan Festival earlier this year. The sight of the stall was enough to make my mouth water. I had a chat and discovered that this trip to the Edinburgh Corn Exchange was their first foray into the world of vegan festivals. They were really friendly and I sampled some of their wares (it would be rude not to) and found them to be super yummy.

Coconut bounty

Some weeks later I was having some friends round and thought they should sample the divine joy that is vegan baking, so I ordered some cupcakes. We got a fair few different flavours: Oreo; Double chocolate; Coconut bounty; Red velvet; Peanut butter; Biscoff; Vanilla & raspberry; Cinnamon & nutella. Now, the nutella of course is not the commercial kind, but a vegan version thereof.

Red velvet

Because we ordered over £25 worth we got them delivered for free (only available in the Edinburgh area). They came beautifully and practically packaged and were dropped off with a smile and a friendly word.

Peanut butter – double yum!

I can’t even describe how superb the cupcakes were. Full of flavour they not only tasted delicious but looked so attractive that it was almost a shame to bite into them (almost). Pitxu’s don’t describe themselves as vegan bakers particularly, as there seems to be some sad reputation attached to the term (no idea why). Instead they see themselves as the standard, but I must disagree. They are far, far superior to the standard bakery.

Biscoff

A family member got a beautiful birthday cake made for her three year old daughter by Pitxu’s recently and everyone was thrilled, as the little girl can’t tolerate dairy and is not used to having such wonderful baked delights. All the guests were very impressed and I think a few minds have been changed regarding vegan baking.

Beautifully decorated Vanilla & Raspberry

If you’re in the Edinburgh area this service comes highly recommended and if you’re not, check out your local vegan baker. They might be closer than you think.

If you go to the supermarket today you’ll see aisles full of Easter eggs and those Easter eggs will be choc (ha!) full of milk. Even many of the lesser-spotted dark chocolate mainstream eggs contain milk. Some don’t (for example the delectable Green and Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate Egg) but mostly you’ll be looking in the ‘free from’ section for cruelty free Easter treats.

Vegan Town chocolate truffle eggs

So, I thought I’d make a huge sacrifice and test some of them for you. I know, selfless. I didn’t test a lot as: a) My jeans are tight enough already and, b) Happily, there are now a huge variety, with practically every major retailer in the UK catering to the lactose intolerant and of course vegans, so really, too many to sample.

didn’t last long…

The first lot I tried were from the superb online retailer Vegan Town. The mini eggs came in three truffle filled varieties: strawberry flavour (gold wrapper) coffee flavour (brown wrapper) or nougat flavour (pink wrapper) and I must say all were yummy. They were the perfect size for an Easter egg hunt and you can buy them in a bundle as I did or in separate bags of one flavour.

Choices white chocolate bunny

Next, the company Choices has a variety of dairy free treats that are available all year round at plenty of supermarkets. I tried their white chocolate bunny, which is just as I remember white chocolate to be (although I must admit it’s been a while) – very sweet with a close texture that crumbles nicely as you eat it.

Choices caramel flavoured Easter egg

The second of their products I tried was their caramel flavoured Easter Egg, which came with three chocolate discs. It was nice, but some of the chocolate in the main egg was a bit thin and the flavour was perhaps an acquired taste. It did a good job of imitating milk chocolate though and those shortcomings didn’t stop me munching my way through it, and it was great for something different.

My favourite was probably Moo Free’s Orange Easter egg. The chocolate was nice and thick and the orange crystal bits through it (a bit like Matchmakers) were absolutely scrummy. It is a darker chocolate, but not so dark it’s bitter, so I think would appeal to milk chocolate fans too. It definitely disappeared the quickest and I was sorely tempted to go out and buy another one. Definitely a great egg to convert non-vegans!

Moo Free Orange Easter egg

The holy grail of Easter treats is of course the Cream Egg. There’s been a bit of controversy recently about the quality of the mainstream egg, not that you’d want to eat dairy stuff anyway. So, hurray for Considerit Chocolate who have produced a vegan cream egg. Yes, you read that correctly, a Vegan Cream Egg. It goes without saying that when my local vegetarian deli got them in stock yesterday, I hot-footed it down there and bagged one. Screw the expense, I had to try it. The chocolate was darker than you’d have with the conventional one, but the filling was perfect and all in all I was not disappointed. They are so popular though, I’d get in there if I were you, before they all disappear.

Vegan Cream Egg

If you do miss out on those, remember, a dairy free Easter egg is only as far as your local supermarket because everyone from Sainsbury’s, to Holland and Barrett seem to have their own brands and the free from section will have everything from dark, ‘milk’, or white chocolate vegan eggs for you to choose from. So have a happy Easter and treat yourself!

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